You don't know what you've got until it's gone
by loopgaroo
Summary: Nobody realizes how integral Stiles is to the pack until it's almost too late. Slow burn Sterek. Please review, let me know what you want to see next!
1. Chapter 1

_Are you coming to Derek's tonight? _– **Scott**

_Idk man, I don't feel like being thrown against walls tonight – _**Stiles **

_Dude please?_ – **Scott **

Stiles sighed and threw his phone onto the bed. He was only agreeing to this because he could see Scott's puppy eyes in his head, begging him to go, and he just couldn't refuse. 'Damn wolfy powers' Stiles muttered to himself, going to the wardrobe to change his shirt. As much as he hated to admit it, he was a little bit intimidated by the rest of the pack, especially Derek, and he wanted to make a good impression. He shrugged on a blue and green checked shirt that he remembered Lydia complimenting once. He glanced at himself in the mirror. The shirt, no matter how 'cute' it had been deemed, probably still didn't make up for the Avengers t-shirt or scruffy converse he was also sporting, but it would have to do – the pack meeting started in 10 minutes.

Jumping out of his jeep approximately 9 minutes and 37 seconds later, he trudged towards the Hale house, sighing to himself. The last 2 pack meetings he'd been growled at by Derek, Peter and Jackson, when he wasn't even trying to be difficult. It wasn't his fault that he was naturally so funny that the others were jealous! Or at least that's what he told himself...

The front door flew open just as Stiles reached it, and he was pulled into a crushing hug by Scott.  
"Dude, dude!" Stiles choked. "My bones don't heal like yours! Give me a break!"

Laughing, Scott released him and apologised.

"Nice shirt, dumbass," Lydia called from the sofa, as Stiles sloped into the lounge. He grinned at her, happy she'd noticed that he was making an effort. His crush on her was completely over, but he was still keen to impress her – she was still a badass!

As he made his way to his normal spot on the floor by Scott's feet he caught Derek's icy glare. What was it with that dude?! Stiles resolved to stay quiet throughout the entire meeting today, to see if he'd be subject to any growls or sudden attacks.

The meeting wore on, and after a while of staying silent Stiles found his attention wondering. In an effort not to break his resolve, he distracted himself by trying to imagine how many corn chips you would need to cover the earth. He was glad that wolfy powers didn't include mind reading, otherwise he was pretty sure the pack would've kicked him out by now!

The only interesting this Stiles picked up from the meeting was something about a report of a sphinx around the outskirts of the next town over. Stiles didn't know much about sphinxes, so he made a mental note to look them up when he got home.

"STILES!" A loud growl disturbed him from his thoughts. Huh, well keeping quiet obviously didn't stop the growling. He looked up to see Derek glowering at him from his arm chair.

"What, sorry?"

"I said: Do. You. Know. Anything. About. Sphinxes?" Derek repeated, emphasizing each word heavily.

Stiles shook his head and Derek let out a low growl. The younger boy sighed and stood up. He didn't really care if the meeting was over yet or not, he needed to get away from here. Every time he tried his best to help the pack, it always turned round to bite him in the ass. What he really needed right now was to be alone, chain-watch episodes of Adventure Time, and snack on Reese's.

He sloped out the front door, ignoring the various cries of protest from the living room. Stiles had almost made it to his jeep when he heard a low, seductive female voice behind him.

"What gets wetter, the more it dries?" the voice purred. Stiles assumed it was Erica, and was in no mood for her teasing.  
"Your mum," Stiles quipped. The voice chuckled quietly, and as Stiles turned around, he could see that it certainly didn't belong to Erica. The voice came from a stunning woman, her oval face framed by waving golden locks and her lips turned up into a cruel smirk. Stiles looked down and saw that below her bare chest was the body of a lion, with two huge, glowing wings growing from its back. On all fours, the creature was as tall as Stiles, and its head was dangerously close to Stiles's, as her breathy laugh tickled his cheek bones. The sphinx raised her paw, 5 perfectly pointed claws shining in the moonlight. Before Stiles had a chance to notice the pack running out of the house towards him, the creature brought its paw down violently, claws slashing through Stile's t-shirt and into his flesh. He just registered the creature springing agilely into the boughs of a tree before blackness washed over him.


	2. Chapter 2

When Stiles came to he was in a hospital bed, propped up by several pillows. Groggily, he opened his eyes to see the whole pack standing by his bedside. Erica stood at the foot of his bed, her usual smug grin replaced by a look of acute fear, and Boyd stood close by her, clutching her arm like a little boy who'd lost his favourite teddy bear. Allison and Lydia were on two plastic chairs dragged in from the corridor, with Scott standing behind them, hands gripping tight to the obnoxious orange plastic, his knuckles turning white. Isaac was stood next to Scott, bouncing nervously on the balls of his feet, tears welling in his eyes. The most surprising, though, was Derek. He was sat on the chair next to his head, taking one of Stiles's hands in both of his, his usually domineering eyebrows furrowed with worry. Whenever Stiles had imagined being on his death bed, it had always been Scott in that place, or occasionally Lydia. Never Derek. He guessed it was something to do with being Alpha and thought no more of it.

There was an audible sigh of relief as they saw Stiles blink in confusion and then groan. He felt like shit. He looked down at the three neat lines of stitches stretching across his torso, and then back up to the pack.

"Did you catch the evil bitch?" were Stiles's first words.

Scott let out a shaky laugh. "Thank God, Stiles! No, we didn't. She was too fast and you were bleeding too much. It was so scary. I thought..." Scott trailed off, tears rolling down his cheeks.

"Hey, hey! Don't worry about me," Stiles comforted him, but directing his words to the rest of the pack too. "I'm Stiles: I'm annoying, I'm invincible, and it's going to take a lot more than that to get rid of me!" He chuckled. The rest of the pack joined in, and Stiles knew it had been a long time since they'd laughed. Even Derek was chuckling quietly, and gave Stiles's hand a little squeeze.

Before he had the chance to turn his head and question Derek, Melissa came in and gave a little cheer when she saw that Stiles was awake again. She squeezed through the crowd of bodies until she was standing by Stiles's head.

"Now, sweetie, I'm not going to ask what it was that did that to you," she began. "But if you ever scare me and your father like that again, I swear, I'll... I'll... I'll ban you from seeing Scott!" she exclaimed, ruffling Stiles's hair and pressing a kiss to his forehead.

"Sorry Melissa," Stiles grinned. "I promise I won't do anything stupid again."

Melissa was just about to leave the room when Stiles spoke up again. "Melissa?"

"Yes, Stiles?"

"Did my dad come home when you told him I was hurt?" He asked, fear making his heart rate climb. Derek, hearing the change in pulse, squeezed gently on his hand again, willing Stiles to calm down.

"No, honey, he didn't. God, did he want to, but I told him to stay put. I figured whatever the problem is in Beacon Hills, you wouldn't want him back in town until it's over." She told Stiles softly.

His body slumped in relief and his heartbeat returned to normal. "Thank you, Melissa," he whispered as she exited the room.

"_Thank you, Melissa,_" came a mocking voice. Stiles's body tensed. The sphinx.

"What is it Stiles?" Derek asked, trying and failing to keep the panic from his voice.

"A voice," he began.

"_A voice,_" she repeated.

"Her voice! Can you not hear it?"

"_Her voice! Can you not hear it?_"

"There's no voice, Stiles..." Isaac told him. Stiles looked desperately at Lydia. If anyone would be able to hear the voice too, it would be her. She shook her head slowly, sadly.

Stiles's breathing started to get quicker, shallower, as he felt the edges of his vision turning black.

"I don't want..." he murmured.  
"_I don't want..._" the voice mocked. "_What don't you want, Stiles?_"

He gasped. The voice was no longer just repeating him. She was getting stronger.

The last thing he heard was Derek, growling his name, and then whining loudly, as a dull roar filled his skull, and his vision petered out.


	3. Chapter 3

The pack sat in the kitchen of the Hale house. The room was usually filled with banter and laughter, but since Stiles had been attacked, they had barely cracked a smile between them. They didn't need to discuss it to know what each other was thinking: how much they missed Stiles. Perhaps each of them had different reasons, but the pack all felt his absence like a blow to the stomach. Erica missed having someone to tease and banter with. Boyd and Allison missed the little man and his rambling stories. Lydia and Isaac missed his kind eyes, which always noticed when someone had a problem. Derek missed the quiet mystery that surrounded Stiles, which he'd never quite got to uncover. But most of all, Scott just missed his best friend.

Nobody wanted to do anything but wallow in misery until Stiles was better again. But they all knew that they had a lot of work to do if they wanted to catch the sphinx, so they'd eventually left the hospital, with a promise from Scott's mom that she would call as soon as he woke again.

And it was now, as the pack sat round the kitchen table, that the pack realised how lost they were without Stiles. None of them had done an inch of research since Stiles became part of the pack. Without even needing to be asked, he slaved away and found the answers to all their problems. He made it look so easy.

Scott wiped the last of his tears from his cheek with the back of his hand, and reached for the first book on the pile. Blowing the dust off the cover, he opened it up, groaning as he saw the pages and pages of tiny writing. This was going to take a long time...

/

Several hours had passed, and the pack had still found nothing. The room was deadly silent, save for a few intermittent growls from various members of the pack as they grew ever more frustrated with the seemingly futile research.

"HEY!" Isaac yelled from his reading spot on the floor by the fridge. "I think I found something!" The pack looked up excitedly as Isaac slammed the heavy book on the kitchen table. He pointed at a paragraph of almost illegible, handwritten script.

"It says here that the sphinx can only be killed by a golden arrow to the chest," Isaac read aloud.

"Perfect!" Allison grinned. "I'll make up some gold arrow heads and then we can kill the bitch!"

"Oh, wait..." Isaac interrupted, his mouth forming a worried 'o' shape.

"What is it, Isaac?" Scott asked, panic overtaking his voice and making it crack.

" 'In order for the beast to be truly vanquished, its last near-victim must drink a potion of wisdom' " Isaac read, his finger following the line in the book.

"What the hell is that?" Lydia demanded.

"It doesn't say..." Isaac replied quietly, eyes downcast.

The pack sighed dejectedly. Their spirits had been so dramatically lifted, only to be suddenly dropped again. It felt like some sort of cruel joke.

"Hang on..." Derek muttered. "Wisdom potion? I'm sure I..." he trailed off, searching hurriedly through the stack of books by his side. "Got it!" he yelled, his voice rising with excitement. The pack looked at him expectantly.

"I know what we need!"

/

Back in Stiles's hospital bed, the monitor next to his side beeped steadily. His heartbeat was calm, his face relaxed. But inside Stiles's head he was trapped in a nightmare.

In his dream he was being chased. Not by a creature, but by the voice. It haunted every step he took, and the faster he ran, the faster it followed him. He made no noise, but the voice had grown from copying him. It now had taunts of its own, feeding off all the insecurities in his mind. And damn was there a lot to feed off of.

Panting a little, Stiles turned the corner of the maze he was running through and saw a light. Just outside was a lake, with the sun setting over it, casting a golden glow over his face. Stiles ran like he'd never run before. Honestly, he didn't expect to make it out of the maze. He expected the lake to be forever just out of his reach. It would certainly be in keeping with the rest of the tricks the sphinx in his mind had played on him already. But to his surprise, he burst from the maze, coughing and wheezing as he finally stopped running. He didn't know how long he'd been running around that maze, but it felt like years. Stiles slid to his knees at the edge of the lake, the water pooling round his knees. Dipping his shaky hands into the shimmering water, he bathed his dirt covered face, sighing as the water cooled his skin. Cupping his hands, he took a long drink. But before he had finished his mouthful, he heard the voice again.

"_You should've found a way out by now, Stiles_," it sneered. "_But it's typical isn't it. You're just slowing the pack down. Like usual. You know, that's why your mum left you, and why Derek will never like you back – you've always been too much of a burden. Hell, your dad and Scott only put up with you because they feel sorry for you!_"

Stiles threw back his head and yelled.

"Shut up!" He screamed at the sky, feeling the words catch in his throat as the tears threatened to spill over. Lifting his shirt over his head, Stiles waded into the lake.

'Let's see the voice try and follow me through this,' he thought to himself, as he dove head first into the deep.


	4. Chapter 4

"Scott!" Melissa McCall's voice filled the Hale lounge, where she was on speakerphone.

"What is it, mom?" Scott blurted, stumbling over his words in his excitement. "Is Stiles awake again?"

"Not quite, honey..." Scott could hear the tears in his mom's voice. "You'd better come quick," she continued. "I don't think there's much time to waste." The call ended.

The pack jumped to their feet and ran outside to pile into the 2 cars parked in front of the house.

"Come on Derek!" Isaac called from the back of the Camaro. The alpha hadn't moved from his armchair.

"I can't..." he whispered. The rest of the pack just nodded and started the cars. Losing a member of the pack took its toll hardest on the alpha, not to mention the suspicious connection which all the wolves could smell between the two of them.

/

The wolves raced through the hospital corridors to Stiles's room, where they were met by a worried looking Melissa. Her usually youthful face was wracked by stress, her mouth turned down at the corners.

"Mom!" Scott gasped. Being a wolf, the run hadn't tired him out, but the panic that he may never see his best friend again took the breath right out from Scott's lungs.

"Sweetie, breathe," Melissa instructed, placing her hands on her son's shoulders. "I was checking up on him, and everything seemed normal," she recounted to the pack. "But then he took this deep breath, like a gasp really, and then the heart monitor went crazy. Went right up to 134 beats per minute! But then it just dropped. He's been at 32 beats a minute since I called you. I can't figure out what's going on!" she finished, despair overtaking her voice. Ever since Stiles's mom had died when he was 8, the young boy had become even more like a second son to Melissa. Even though she wasn't a member of the pack, she felt just as much panic rising in her chest at the thought of losing the sarcastic but lovable teen.

"What can we do?" Lydia asked.

"Not much, I don't think," Melissa replied solemnly. "If we try to wake him up we risk putting him in even more danger than he's already in. I just called because I thought you all might like to see him."  
It hadn't slipped Melissa's attention that the entire pack wasn't present, but she didn't comment on Derek's uncharacteristic absence; just let the group file into Stiles's room.

/

Back at the Hale house Derek was still sat in his armchair, frozen to the same spot as he had been for the past half an hour. He was wracked by guilt. If he hadn't growled at Stiles... If he hadn't been so harsh on him all those times before... If he'd told Stiles the truth... Would he still be in a hospital bed, clinging to life? Probably not. Derek couldn't move a muscle, glued to the spot with fear, but he hated just sitting where he was. He needed to do something. The house smelt all wrong when Stiles wasn't there.

Stiles's scent had been driving Derek crazy since he first met the boy. He couldn't figure it out. Derek was a wolf! A freaking alpha wolf! He should be able to unravel a scent as easy as breathing – Lydia's was freshly cut grass and mango scented candles, Isaac's was old books and chocolate, Scott's was oranges and pine, just to name a few. But Stiles was different. The only way Derek could describe it was warm. Comforting. Like home. It drove him mad, and quite frankly he found it a bit unnerving that he couldn't even figure out the boy's scent, let alone his complicated, hyper-active mind.

The absence of his smell made Derek's insides squirm, but he still couldn't bring himself to move. He knew he needed to act, now, and he knew that he'd beat himself up later for not doing anything sooner. But he also knew that he wouldn't be able to move from the chair until his pack came and physically dragged him into action.

/

Back in Stiles's hospital room, the pack were stood around his bed once more. They had decided to say their goodbyes to Stiles before going out to kick some sphinx ass, and hopefully save Stiles. They lined up next to his unconscious figure, lying so peacefully on the hospital bed. It was so unsettling not to see him bouncing about like usual. Despite the pack's usual teasing of Stiles, they all secretly loved Stiles's constantly flailing limbs and motor mouth.

Tears ran down Erica's cheeks as she squeezed his hand. "Please wake up," she whispered, her voice cracking. She vowed to herself that, if Stiles did wake up, she would never hide her feelings again. She would let him know just how much she looked up to the boy. She only hoped she'd get the chance.

Boyd was next, and he surprised everyone by silently bending down to press a single kiss to Stiles's forehead. He'd never been one for words, but the pack knew that this was all Boyd could stand without breaking down.

The pack filed past, each saying their brief, teary farewell. Isaac had to be dragged from the room by Melissa he was so distraught.

At last it was Scott's turn. He covered his mouth with his hand and shook his head silently, tears flowing freely down his cheeks. He promised himself that, if Stiles woke up, he'd take the time to properly tell him how much he meant to everyone. Finally, he whispered in Stiles's ear.

"I wanted to explore the world with you, dude. Please wake up, buddy."


	5. Chapter 5

Two days later, the pack had sourced all of the ingredients. Some had involved a lot of bargaining, some a lot of illegality, but Sheriff Stilinski was hardly likely to bust their asses for trying to save his son. The ingredients were now scattered across the kitchen table at the Hale house as Lydia worked over the ancient book. Her hair was tied back messily, her face uncharacteristically stressed out.

"Agate powder," she barked, holding out a hand. She was quickly passed the bottle containing the fine maroon powder. She emptied half the bottle into the large bowl and began mixing rapidly.

The next room over, Derek paced agitatedly. After his pack had come back to the house he'd sprung to action and secured over half of the ingredients on the list, but the actual making of the potion was making him nervous. It was taking too long. He needed to know right _now_ that Stiles would be okay.

Right on cue, there was a cheer from the kitchen as the final component was added and the deep purple liquid started bubbling gently, as the book had described it should.

The pack now had two options: they either took the potion to Stiles, or Stiles to the potion. None of them particularly fancied bringing the suspiciously evil looking potion with them through the hospital, so the second option it was. Derek, Scott and Lydia were the chosen 3 to collect Stiles from the hospital – Derek to lift Stiles, hopefully without waking him, Scott to try and persuade his mum that it was for the best, and Lydia to talk reasonably and be as level-headed as possible. They jumped in the camaro and Derek tore down the road to the hospital.

* * *

"Mom – " Scott began, turning on the puppy eyes.

"Do whatever you want, sweetie," Melissa interrupted, knowing immediately that the trio meant business. "Just keep him safe."

Scott pulled his mum into a quick hug, planting a kiss on her forehead, before running to catch up with the other two.

Lydia fought back the tears as she jogged with Derek to Stiles's room. It was finally hitting her that she might never get a chance to tell Stiles the truth – that he'd given her the confidence that she had to this day. That his crush, no matter how creepy her friends had told her it was, had helped her to believe in herself. She'd planned on telling him one day, but she'd never had the courage to open up like that before. She promised herself that, if Stiles woke up, she would thank him properly.

Derek inhaled sharply as he entered the room. Stiles looked too pale, his breathing was too shallow. It almost sent Derek to his knees on the floor, but he knew he couldn't do that. Not now. His instinct took over, body working on auto-pilot because it hurt his head too much to think about the possibility that this might be the last time he gets to see Stiles breathing. He strode to the bed and slid his arms under Stiles's resting body. For such a hulking sourwolf, he could be extremely gentle when he wanted to, and Stiles barely registered the change in position, save for a small whimper that escaped his lips. The tiny, defenceless sound brought tears to Derek's eyes, but he refused to let them spill over. Not here. Lydia slowly pulled the drips from Stiles's arm, trying to disturb him as little as possible.

The four rode back to the Hale house in silence, not even commenting on how Derek let Lydia drive so that he could stay with Stiles in the back seat, his limp torso lying across Derek's lap. Carrying him through the front door, Derek decided that, if Stiles woke up, he wouldn't shy away from his feelings anymore. For better or for worse, he'd tell Stiles the truth.

Setting Stiles in the alpha's own armchair, Derek took a step back to look at the frail boy before him. It sent a shiver down his spine. Footsteps approached, and the pack entered the lounge behind him. Allison carried the potion, now simmered down to just a small flask full of thick purple slime.

"How do we get him to – " Isaac began, but was interrupted by a feeble groan from Stiles. The pack snapped their necks around in unison to stare at Stiles, who was just emerging from unconsciousness.

"Stiles, buddy!" Scott exclaimed brightly, trying to keep his voice quiet enough to not shock Stiles. He crouched by the arm of the chair and explained the plan to his best friend.

"So," he concluded gently, "this might taste nasty, but you can't get better and we can't kill that skanky-ass sphinx until you drink this, right? Sorry in advance."

Stiles groaned and looked up through half closed eyes at the rest of the pack. They all looked so worried. Were they _tears_ in Derek's eyes? Dude, what the hell?!

Stiles loved making the pack smile. That's why he put on such a joker's act whenever he was round them, that's why he went out of his way to research for them, that's why he made them his best cookies for pack movie nights. It just wouldn't do for the pack to be looking so down because of him. So he gripped both arms of the chair tightly, knuckles going white with the effort, and tried to stand.

"Stiles, man, you can sit," Scott comforted Stiles. He shook his head in reply, and almost fell back into the chair. His back was caught by a pair of warm, strong hands. Derek had made his way forward to the front of the group, and was helping Stiles to his feet. It made him frown that Stiles was so weak, and was now putting himself under extra strain, but he understood why he wanted it to be this way.

Allison held out the flask of purple liquid towards Stiles, who took it from her with shaking, pale fingers. He peered at the potion, swirling it gently at the bottom of the flask.  
"Gross," he murmured as he tilted his head back and poured the foul smelling liquid into his mouth. He swallowed hard, grimacing at the bitter taste. The pounding headache just behind his eyes began to subside, and it felt like Stiles could hold his own weight again. He stood up a bit straighter and raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"Hey!" he began brightly. "I think I feel a bit bett– "

Stiles collapsed into a heap on the floor before even Derek's arms could catch him.


	6. Chapter 6

Stiles's eyes fluttered open a second later to see the wolves all still standing around him, dumbstruck. He blinked, confused as to why he was suddenly on the floor. Then he remembered the potion, the feeling better, and then the blacking out. He still didn't feel too great, if he was honest. He was shivering, but he felt like his insides were boiling. He was dizzy as hell and his mouth was dryer than a desert. His mind was racing a mile a minute, like it usually did when he hadn't taken his adderall. He didn't really know what was going on right now, but he did know one thing.

"Guys, I need to be alone," he spoke up. All these people towering over him were making him feel claustrophobic, and it was almost like the potion could feel it too – it was churning in Stiles's stomach. If they didn't leave soon he was going to throw up on them, and that was something all of them could do without. The pack looked at him, surprise on all their faces.

"Honey, shouldn't one of us stay with you?" Lydia began.

"Yeah, to make sure you're alright," Allison added.

"We're so worried, man," Isaac whispered.

Stiles sighed and looked around at the group. Derek still had tears in his eyes, Lydia and Allison looked like concerned moms, and Isaac looked like someone had just eaten his new puppy. It killed him that he'd been the one causing them so much hurt, even if he hadn't been doing it consciously.

"Guys, please?" He turned his puppy eyes on the pack. It had been so long since he'd used them on the group, and they were all just so relieved to have him back, that they eventually complied. They trudged out of the room and Stiles pretended he couldn't hear them talking about him in hushed whispers just outside the door. He was just glad he couldn't hear the sphinx's voice anymore.

* * *

"Dude, shouldn't one of us at least spy on him to make sure he's okay?" Scott hissed.

"Scott!" Allison protested, hitting his arm.

"We've got to respect what he wants, even if we don't like it," Boyd agreed.

"I think Scott's right," Isaac whispered. "What if he blacks out when we're not with him? What if the sphinx gets back in somehow? What if – " Isaac was cut off by a pained whine from Derek, which he quickly disguised as a low growl.

"We do what he says," Derek announced, his eyes flashing red to signify the finality of his decision. "For now, we concentrate on the sphinx. The book said that once the potion had been drunk, the sphinx would be disorientated and weak for just one hour. This is the only chance we have," he whispered urgently. "All of you: go! Now!"

"What about you, Derek?" Erica asked. "Are you coming too?"

"What, and leave Stiles all alone?" Derek hissed back. "Are you crazy? No. I'll hold the fort. Go, do your best."

The pack nodded and turned to leave.

"And good luck," Derek whispered.

* * *

Stiles sighed as he attempted to pick himself up off the floor. As nice as it was to not hear the sphinx's voice anymore, he'd been with it for so long that he felt kind of empty without it. It had seemed like years that he had been trapped inside the maze running from the bitch, and somehow, even though he'd got rid of her now, it still felt like she was getting the last laugh.

Eventually managing to stand, Stiles stumbled over to the beige 2-seater sofa and collapsed on it, feeling like he'd been on his feet for weeks, rather than lying in a hospital bed for several days. He sat facing the wall, his toes pressed against the arm of the sofa. He hugged his knees to his chest to keep warm and tried to focus his eyes on the patch of peeling paint directly in front of him. His head was spinning. Spinny. Like a windmill. Or a ferris wheel. Like that one from the fair when he was 7, when he cried at the top and got his cotton candy stuck to his face and –

Stiles's thoughts were interrupted as he felt a dip in the sofa behind him, and a pair of warm, muscular arms wrap themselves softly around his waist. The familiar and surprisingly sweet smell of Derek enveloped Stiles's senses. No idea what was going on, but too far gone to question it, the corners of Stiles's mouth turned up into a satisfied smile. He vaguely remembered that Derek being here was going against his orders, but he didn't really care anymore. The strong, safe arms pulled him slightly closer, until his back was flush with the muscular torso behind him. Snuggling into the drowsy warmth, Stiles felt his eyes fluttering closed. As he slipped into a deep sleep once more he could've sworn he felt an impossibly light kiss being pressed behind his ear. But that couldn't be right.

* * *

**A/N: Thanks for the great response guys, I love reading your reviews! Tell me what you want to see happening next! If you want to give me prompts for other TW fics then go for it, I'd love to give them a go!**


	7. Chapter 7

The pack made their way swiftly through the forest, Scott and Boyd leading the way as their sense of smell was the strongest. They had agreed to keep silent, so as not to alert the sphinx to their whereabouts, but Isaac had a burning question. He tried to keep it to himself, but it was like an itch in his chest – he needed to ask it!

"What was up with Derek? Since when has he wished us luck?" he hissed into the silence.

"I know, right!" Allison chipped in. "I've never had the feeling he was that fussed if we came back from a mission or not."  
"Does this mean he actually has feelings?"

"I don't know, Isaac... It's a scary prospect, but maybe he does!"

"Oh come on, guys!" Lydia interrupted impatiently. "Isaac, I can let you off, but Allison, I expected better of you! Are you both really that blind?"

"What?" they both asked in unison.

From the front of the group Scott snorted. "Seriously? Even I've figured it out by now! Derek has a cru – "

Scott was cut off as he was knocked flying high into the air, travelling in a wide arch before his back slammed into a tree. He fell to the floor, knocking thin branches and pine needles down with him in his wake. Boyd growled low in his throat and crouched close to the floor.

"Left," was all he said. The wolves bared their fangs and sprung to the side where the blow had come from.  
The potion may've slowed the sphinx down a considerable amount, but it was still a tough opponent. Its graceful movements were incredibly fast, and took even the wolves by surprise. The creature's beautiful, entrancing laughter echoed around the trees, coming from all directions, throwing the pack off. Before long all of them were sporting an injury or two – not half as bad as the damage would've been had the potion not been drunk, though.

* * *

Erica watched as the golden creature turned to face Boyd, who was lying on the ground after being knocked flying. Its movements soft as silk, it prowled towards the hulking wolf, eyes gleaming with the malice. Erica saw red. She couldn't help herself from growling at the thought of the sphinx harming Boyd. With a quick lunge and a swipe of claws, the sphinx was down on the forest floor, panting heavily. It regained strength impossibly fast, but its momentary lapse in concentration had bought the pack enough time to get the upper hand. By the time the sphinx leapt to its feet again it had been surrounded by the pack. The beautifully symmetric face looked up into the trees, searching for an escape route, but frowned when it saw Allison and Lydia perched high in the branches, crossbows poised. (Allison knew it would come in handy to train Lydia with weapons at some point, regardless of how reluctant the redhead had been).

The sphinx lunged towards Jackson, taking a swipe at his face, but was knocked sideways by the force of Isaac kicking it in the side. The great creature was bounced around the circle, getting more and more disorientated by the blows it was receiving from all angles. The sphinx stumbled dizzily towards Isaac, panting. The young wolf flashed his claws, and thrust his hand upwards. He felt the rip of flesh underneath his fingers and watched as the beast collapsed on the forest floor, bleeding profusely from the hole Isaac had ripped in its throat.

Silence settled amongst the group for a moment, before a huge cheer erupted from the pack - except for Isaac. He stood, legs shaking, staring at the creature in front of him. He'd never been one for violence, not after his dad. Looking down at the creature now he couldn't help but think of himself in its place.

Sure, the sphinx had deserved it for hurting Stiles, but he remembered years ago when his dad had invited some old school friends around and they'd drunk over a game of poker. Isaac had come downstairs to find his dad after having a bad nightmare, but his dad was too ashamed of having a 'wimp' for a son to comfort him. The men had stood in a circle, towering over him, bouncing him between them, delivering punches and kicks as they went.

One by one the other men had got bored and filtered out to the kitchen to get yet another beer, until Isaac was left in the room with his dad. By this point Isaac's vision had been blurry, and his mind fuzzy and black round the edges, so he couldn't remember it completely. But he could recall his dad hissing "If you _ever _embarrass me like that again, I'll rip your fucking throat out! You understand me, you _fag_?" as if it were only yesterday.

* * *

The pack noticed that Isaac's breathing had become shallow and too fast.

"Isaac, buddy?" Scott began, making his way slowly towards the cowering boy. "It's okay, it's over now. You killed it!"

This only made Isaac worse, and he started whimpering and backing into a tree.

Climbing agilely down from her spot in the branches, Lydia approached. "Come on Isaac, look at me. You're in the forest. With me, Lydia. And Scott-the-dumbass McCall. Come on, look at me," she coaxed him gently ignoring the noises of indignation that Scott was making.

Gradually, Isaac's eyes focussed on Lydia's face and he nodded slowly.  
"Sorry. Sorry sorry sorry sor– "

"Don't apologize, honey," Erica interrupted. "Now, let's get you back to Derek's."

The young boy got slowly to his feet and stumbled forward a few steps, his legs still shaky.

"It's alright, bud, we've got you," Jackson said, showing a surprisingly soft side to his usual douchebag persona. He looped Isaac's right arm around his shoulder and signalled for Scott to do the same.

Slowly, the pack made their way back towards the Hale house. The celebratory mood was still in the air, but they all walked slowly with Isaac. They were a team, a unit, and when one was down they all stuck together.

* * *

**A/N: Thanks for the great response guys! I love reading your reviews so much! Anything else you want to see, just let me know :)**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Thanks for all the follows and reviews guys!**

**I don't know if this should be the last chapter or not... Is there anything else you want to see happening? Or any prompts you want me to do? **

**Thank you ^_^**

* * *

Stiles felt himself drifting in and out of consciousness. He wasn't sure where he was, but it was warm and comfortable. He didn't know how long he'd been asleep for either, but he felt better rested than he had in days. As he grew more awake and aware of his surroundings he figured out that he was on the same sofa as before, but now he had a soft blanket over his legs and was sat on Derek's lap, head against his chest and arms flung round his neck. _Wait a freaking minute! Derek Hale's FREAKING LAP?! _Stiles fought to keep his heartbeat under control and his breathing even – he didn't want the pack knowing he was awake just yet. He wanted to see how they acted when they thought he couldn't hear them.

* * *

"So yeah, even being all drugged up, she still put up quite a fight!" Erica concluded her story, looking proudly at Derek.

"Well done, guys," he praised them as the pack grinned at each other. Whatever had gotten into Derek today, they liked it. They knew that Derek always cared about them, but it was really nice to actually hear him say it out loud.

The teenagers were all sporting various injuries from their fight with the sphinx. Boyd had got off the lightest, with just a single scratch along his jaw, which was already half way to healing. Erica sat next to him on the larger sofa, nursing a hideous gash to the calf. Jackson had ice pressed to a worryingly large bump on his forehead, and Lydia had a swollen lip and a set of three claw marks which ran across both her legs from the tops of her thighs to her ankles. Scott was on the floor with Allison in front of him, sat between his legs. He was tending to the long scratch marks on her back which had ripped through her blouse, while he ignored the blood that had seeped through his shirt. Isaac was sat in the alpha's usual armchair, a pattern of claw marks visible across his chest and tears in his eyes.

"What's up, Isaac?" Derek asked gently. The vibrations of his voice made his chest rumble by Stiles's face, and the resting boy had to fight back a smile.

"I... I... Sorry. It's stupid," Isaac stammered, wiping his tears furiously with the back of his hand. Derek felt a wave of emotion for the boy. He was still scared of admitting his feelings in front of the alpha because he was scared he'd react in the same way as his father had done in the past.

"Hey, buddy, it's okay," Derek reminded him. "Whatever it is, you can tell me."

The pack exchanged shocked glances at one another. They'd never seen Derek act like this with Isaac because they'd never been at the Hale house when he'd panicked in the past.

Isaac looked up timidly. "Well... I was the one who... Who killed the sphinx. And I know I should be strong and stuff but... She started saying stuff in my head just before... And she was saying about Dad. And how he was... Right. About all the stuff he did to me." Isaac looked back up again, as if he'd suddenly remembered where he was. "Sorry," he finished, bowing his head once more.

"Hey, Isaac, you know she was telling you lies, right?" Derek replied, his eyes with a new soft edge to them. "Lydia! Go and hug him, I can't with Stiles on me."

Lydia got up from her spot beside Jackson and squeezed into the armchair next to Isaac. She brought him in for a big hug, burying her head in his shoulder.

"It's okay to cry, you know," she said, her voice muffled but still audible. "We all do it, even Jackson." Jackson huffed and scowled, but nodded all the same. "And we're not going to tell you off for it - it's good to do," Lydia finished.  
"Thanks, guys," Isaac said in a small voice, returning Lydia's hug.

* * *

After a few minutes of companionable silence, Lydia shifted to sit on the arm of the chair, reaching over to play with Isaac's curly hair. He left his arm resting comfortably across her legs, now having calmed down completely.

"One question, though," Allison spoke up. "Couldn't it only be killed with a golden arrow?"

The pack murmured in confusion and agreement. Allison had only used her regular arrows to weaken the sphinx, but had never used one of her gold tipped, custom made arrows.

Isaac stretched in his seat to reach the thick, old spell book on the side table. He opened it to the same page as before, but this time his eyes caught on the folded corner of paper covering some of the words. He flipped it over and read for a moment, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion. Lydia, who had been reading over his shoulder, opened her mouth in a dainty 'o' shape.

"What is it, dude?" Scott asked Isaac from his place on the floor.

"It says that the only... The only other way to kill the sphinx is to get an Aurea Lupus."

"What the hell is that?" Jackson demanded.

"I – I don't know..." Isaac stammered, looking up at Derek concernedly.

Stiles felt Derek's shoulders lift in a shrug beneath his resting form, and he could imagine Derek raising his eyebrows as if to say '_how should I know?_'. Ever the opportunist, Stiles took the chance after Derek disturbing his position to wriggle around in the alpha's lap and tighten his grip around his neck. Hell, if this was the only chance Stiles got to be in close proximity with Derek he was going to milk it for all he was worth! He held back the satisfied smirk that threatened to take over his face as he heard Derek's sharp intake of breath at Stiles's wriggling.

"I think I read something about this, wait!" Lydia exclaimed, leaping from the armchair to pull a huge leather bound book from her Prada handbag. Ignoring the raised eyebrows and various comments of "What the hell do you actually keep in there, Lydia?!", she climbed back to her old spot on the chair next to Isaac.

She leafed through the book until she found the section she was looking for, a few pages before the pink sparkly ribbon she'd stuffed in the book to mark her place.

"Look!" she said, shoving the book under his nose. "It says right here: 'An _Aurea Lupus_ is an extremely rare branch of the lycanthrope. He may only be created on the 7th full moon of the year, and only after he has endured extreme sufferance. So named the _Aurea Lupus_, this creature has the metallic element of gold running through their veins and in the molecular structure of their claws and fur. This gives them both immunity to the bite of a sphinx and further heightened senses during the week of the seventh moon each year.'"

A stunned silence fell across the room as Lydia read, everyone turning to stare at Isaac, whose slack jawed face had turned an impressive shade of red.

"I... I had no idea!" he whispered.

"Pretty cool though, right?" Scott exclaimed, a grin on his lips.

"Yeah, I guess so," Isaac said, a smile finally pulling at the corner of his mouth. "At least something good came of all the shit my dad put me through," he laughed.

Stiles decided that the time had come for him to say something too.

"Thanks, by the way, guys," he said, keeping his eyes closed and head pressed to Derek's chest – he wasn't quite ready to return to reality in its entirety yet. The pack jumped, not knowing that he'd been awake the whole time. Derek's arms automatically tightened around Stiles's body, pulling him closer before tilting his chin up to face him.

"For what?" Derek asked.

"For kicking ass. For being awesome when I was being useless. For saving me," he explained.

"Dude!" Scott exclaimed. "You don't need to thank us for that, of course we saved you! That's what pack is for!" The rest of the group all nodded and chimed in with their agreements.

"What's up with your face?" Stiles asked Lydia, spotting her knowing smirk.

"I think maybe Derek wants a minute to – "

"Explain about the sphinx and the potion and stuff!" Scott butted in. He saw where Lydia was going with this, and he didn't want her to ruin the big reveal for Derek.

The pack understood immediately and cleared the room quickly, scooting towards the door whilst Stiles blinked in confusion.

"What? I don't get it," he started as the door slammed shut behind the giggling pack. "They explained about the potion before. Is there something they didn't tell me?!" Stiles started to panic, his hands flapping about.

"Hey," Derek said softly, pressing Stiles's flailing hands together to still them. Stiles looked up at Derek through his lashes, his eyes apologetic. "Sorry for freaking out. But seriously, what?"

Derek chuckled, losing himself in the boy's deep whisky coloured eyes. His expression then sobered as he realized what he had to do now. He took a deep breath and pressed his forehead against Stiles's shoulder for a moment, trying to collect his thoughts.

"Dude? You're scaring me. Say something!"

"It's not about the sphinx," Derek began, raising his head from Stiles's shoulder. "It's not about the potion either. It's... It's just that..."

It wasn't like Derek to stumble over his words. He didn't speak much, sure, but when he did he was certain and confident. Stiles watched, completely baffled, as a pink blush spread across Derek's cheeks.

"Well, when you were away your scent wasn't in the house anymore. And I didn't know how to feel about that at first. But then I knew what I felt and... Well, what I mean to say is..." Derek trailed off, looking down again. Damn it! He was an alpha werewolf for crying out loud, and he was scared of telling skinny, defenceless Stiles about his feelings. He had to go and mess this up too, didn't he!

"Hey," Stiles gently interrupted his inner monologue of self-loathing by placing his finger underneath the alpha's chin and tilting it upwards so that he was looking at him again. Derek stared into Stiles's shining eyes, glinting gold in the sunlight from the window. He looked so sincere. So concerned about Derek. It had been a long time since he'd felt so cared for.

"What did you feel, Derek?"

He answered without words, leaning forward slightly to press his lips lightly against Stiles's. It was only for a second, but Derek felt his stomach jolt, like he'd just jumped from a cliff. It was a good feeling though, kind of like flying, just in that brief moment before he pulled away again.

Stiles blinked at him several times, trying to process what had just happened. While Derek was speaking he'd felt his heart start to race, but he hadn't let himself hope too much, just in case he was going to get let down again. But then Derek had leant forward and kissed him and his brain had just broken and he didn't know what to think anymore and it was like all of his dreams coming true. Well not all of his dreams, because he had some pretty weird dreams, like that one where he was being chased around the police station by a giraffe with his Dad's face –

Stiles was pulled from his rambling ADHD train of thought when he saw Derek's face start to crumble. Derek knew it had been a gamble to kiss the boy, he just hadn't known how to put his thoughts into words. Now he was wishing he'd just shut up though. It was obvious that Stiles didn't feel the same way now. All he'd done since the kiss was just sit there and blink at Derek in that adorable way that – No. He couldn't let himself think of Stiles that way now he knew he didn't like him back. It would just hurt too much.  
Stiles saw all Derek's thoughts run through his brain, almost heard them they were so obvious on his face. So before Derek could push himself further into his cave of self hatred, Stiles put his hand on Derek's jaw and pulled him closer for another kiss. It was deeper this time, and Stiles felt Derek smile beneath his lips as the alpha curled his hand around the back of Stiles's neck, pulling him even closer into the kiss.  
Derek pulled way suddenly, holding Stiles's head in place as the younger boy tried to follow Derek's lips, his eyes still half closed.

"Stiles, your heart beat," he began. He tried to keep his voice as steady as possible so as not to shock the teenager, but his expressive eyebrows gave away his worry. "It's jumping all over the place! Are you okay? Is it the potion or – "

"No," Stiles interrupted, "just you. Can I kiss you again now?"

Derek grinned, dazzling Stiles.

"You should do that more often, you know," Stiles added, before pulling Derek's hands from the sides of his face and wrapping them back around his neck as he leant in to kiss him again. Derek gave a tiny moan as their lips touched once more, feeling tingles run down his spine.

It was a good job the pack had already cleared out of the house!


End file.
